1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a point of sale (“POS”) printer, and more particularly, to a POS printer including an automated cover opening apparatus.
2. Description of the Background
POS printers have typically been used to print sales receipts. A recent trend in the use of such printers is an increased acceptance of thermal printing methods, which provide for operation of the printers at much faster printing speeds. While faster printing speeds allow for an increase in throughput in a checkout process, the faster printing speeds tends to result in an increased frequency in which paper supply rolls must be replaced since more information can be added to the receipt. Therefore, opening a paper supply roll access cover to re-load a paper supply roll is a frequent task.
To address this issue, POS printer manufacturers have attempted to differentiate themselves from their competitors by providing features on POS printers that simplify a paper supply roll loading process. For example, many manufacturers have introduced POS printers with push-buttons that release elaborate latching mechanisms which open a paper supply roll access cover. However, although these elaborate latching mechanisms may simplify the paper supply roll loading process, these latching mechanisms add considerable cost and complexity to the POS printers.
Simpler and less expensive methods, such as cover detents, have also been used in order to secure the paper supply roll access cover to the POS printer. However, the cover detents are difficult to use, since a force required to open the paper access cover may exceed a weight of the POS printer, especially in single station printers. Therefore, what is needed is a simpler and less expensive feature for a POS printer which is used to open the paper access cover.